Another Chance
by Let'sBeExposedAndUnprotected
Summary: Series 4 Episode 1 - Caroline wakes up in hospital. Probably a one-shot.


"I've got to go"

"I know"

…..

"ate" She takes a big gulp of oxygen from the mask over her face "Kate" this time she manages the whole word, before beginning to let out a heartbroken groan on every exhale.

"Caroline! Caroline? Can you hear me, love?" Celia has shot up from her seat at Caroline's bedside and is stood over her daughter.

"Kate" she moans again

"Kate's gone. It's me - it's your Mum. And this nurse erm….sorry what's your name, love?"

"Rachel" she provides

"Rachel – she's been looking after you"

Caroline continues her groaning and sobbing.

"Caroline, I know this is distressing for you but I need you to take some deep breaths and calm down so we can see how you're doing." The nurse says kindly but sternly.

"I want Kate" she manages, through her laboured breathing.

This time Rachel leans right into Caroline so that she's in her line of vision. "Caroline, I want you to take a deep breath in for me….and let it back out….in again….and out….that's it" The breathing allows Caroline's mind to focus a little and she realises, with some confusion, where she is. "Okay, can you remember what happened?" the nurse asks gently whilst starting to check Caroline over and take her vitals.

Caroline shakes her head slowly.

"You've been in an accident, a car accident. So you're at St Margaret's in the Intensive Care Unit." The nurse informs her, seeing if it jogs her memory.

"Where's Kate?" she murmurs

"Kate's gone down to the Maternity Ward, sweetheart. The accident caused her to go into premature labour" her Mum tells her

Caroline starts sobbing again – but this time they're tears of relief. It's not real. She's alive.

"I've…got….t'ssseeee her" she slurs, trying to sit up and remove the mask that's over her face but grimacing and not getting very far thanks to her injuries.

"No, no, no – you're not going anywhere! Not for a while anyway." Rachel chastises her, gently guiding her back down onto the bed.

"She'll be….scared. She….needs me" Caroline pleads

"She's in good hands. And she's not on her own – your Dad's with her" she reassures

Kate groans through the final wave of her most recent contraction whilst Alan stands at her side holding her hand through the pain. His phone pings to signify a text message coming through.

"She's awake, love! Caroline's awake! And she's asking for you"

Kate's head drops down onto the pillow with relief. "Is she okay?"

He reads the text aloud. "Woken up. Groggy and confused. But demanding as ever! Wants to see Kate. How is she?"

Kate smiles, knowing that Caroline is still her magnificent self – if slightly battered and bruised. "I'm fine" she pants

 _Doing well but starting to flag a little. Glad Caroline's awake. Have the boys been in yet?_

Now that Caroline is awake and starting to come round more and more the boys are shepherded into the room to see her. William is first to her bedside and takes hold of her hand. He gently strokes the hair back off her face with the other hand so that he can carefully kiss her forehead.

"Okay?" he asks

"Oh, I'm fine" she replies bravely, not wanting her boys to see her struggling

"We thought you were going to die" Lawrence whispers

"Lawrence!" Will warns

"Take more than that to get rid of me, pal" she quips with an attempt at a smile

"What's the damage?" Will asks, looking between the nurse and his grandmother

"Broken arm, couple of broken ribs and a few cuts and bruises. Doesn't seem to be any motor impairment – she's fuzzy on the events of the accident though but that's to be expected."

"I AM here you know!" not enjoying being talked about

Will chuckles "We know, Mum"

She sighs. "Boys, will you go and see Kate for me? I need to know that she's okay."

The boys nod. "Of course, Mum"

"Thank you. And Will?"

"Yeah?"

She looks down at the bedsheets shyly "Tell her….tell her that I love her, won't you?"

He smiles "Will do"

The brothers navigate the corridors until they reach the Maternity Ward where they are stopped by a Midwife.

"Can I help you?"

Will takes charge. "We're here to see Kate McKenzie please."

"Are you family?" she enquires

"Nearly"

"Nearly?" she replies

"Well, our Mum was meant to marry her today but they had an accident on the way to the Registry Office which caused Kate's early labour. Mum's asked us to come and check on Kate for her 'cos she's stuck in Intensive Care with broken bones and isn't strong enough to make it here herself. She's worried about her. Please can we see her? Just for two minutes.."

The midwife's face softens and she beckons for them to follow her. She finds Kate's room and knocks on the door before going in. The boys follow her in but stop at the doorway taken aback by what they see. Kate is covered in a sheen of sweat and is growling her way through another contraction. When the contraction ends and she looks up to see what the disturbance is and is surprised to see William and Lawrence in the room.

"Will. Lawrence. Hi" she pants

"Errr…..hi…..you okay?" William manages

She nods

"Mum sent us to check on you and to erm….to tell you she loves you" he continues shyly

She smiles despite her discomfort. "Tell her I love her too but that she's in deep trouble for missing this!" she teases

"We will"

A midwife moves towards Kate and silently asks permission to which Kate nods and so the midwife goes about checking how dilated Kate's cervix is. The boys look away sheepishly. She removes her hand and announces: "Well, I'd say you're just about 10cm – I think it's time to start pushing!" Kate looks scared but nods at the midwife again and listens to her instructions.

Meanwhile, Will whispers something to Lawrence.

"Why?" he asks, confused

"Just do it! Quickly!" and so Lawrence heads over to Alan and hands him his phone showing him how to swipe the screen to answer a call when it comes through. And with that the boys are gone and start running back along the corridors towards their mother.

They enter the room rather unceremoniously and Will immediately takes out his phone and dials his brother's number. "Mum, Kate's pushing! The baby's coming!"

He puts the phone on loud speaker.

"'ello? 'ello? 'Ave I done it right? Can y'ear me?"

"Yes, we can hear you Grandad" Will replies, amused at Alan's lack of technical savvy

"That's it, that's it….well done" they hear the Midwife saying in the background. "I can see the head. If you give me a nice big push again on the next one with any luck the head will be born" she encourages. Caroline realises what she's listening to..

"Kate! Kate, are you okay?"

"Caroline? Where are you?" Kate shouts desperately

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" she sobs

"She's in Intensive Care, Kate" Celia tells her

"I love you" Caroline manages through the tears

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh!" Kate cries

"That's it – push right down into your bottom. Keep going. Keep going. That's it. And breathe now Kate, breathe, get ready for the next one. The head's out, okay? We're nearly at the final hurdle"

Caroline has her head back on the pillow, looking up at the ceiling trying to stop the cascade of tears. Will turns to look at her and pulls out his hanky to wipe away her tears. "She's on her way, Mum" he whispers. She turns to look at him and smiles, the tears continuing to fall silently.

"Caroline" Kate whimpers

She takes a deep breath and tries to pull herself together for Kate's sake. "You can do it, sweetheart. I'm so proud of you."

"I can't, I can't do it.." Kate moans, the tiredness evident in her voice

"You can, darling, of course you can. Just one more big push and your little girl will be here, just like you always dreamed"

They can hear Kate breathing deeply at the other end of the phone, psyching herself up for one last push. As she feels the contraction hit she closes her eyes and pushes with all her might, barely making a sound but the effort visible on her face.

The line goes silent.

"Kate?" Caroline calls

The reply she gets is a piercing cry as the baby, unhappy at the disturbance, takes her first few gulps of air. They all smile with relief and let out the collective breath they had been holding. The tears are streaming down Caroline's face once more. She's a mummy again..

"Congratulations Kate, a beautiful little girl" The midwife says as she places the tiny life on her mother's chest. "And look at all that hair!"

Caroline smiles. She can just imagine the shock of dark hair that the little girl would be sporting.

Kate is given a few moments with her daughter before she's whisked away again to be checked over and placed in an incubator due to her early arrival.

"I want to see them" Caroline pleads again

The nurse looks back at her apologetically. "The Maternity Ward's on the other side of the hospital – there's no way we can get you over there until you're stronger and starting to mend."

The disappointment is clear to see on Caroline's face.

Will whispers something to Lawrence again and the younger brother shoots off out of the door.

Ten minutes later Will's phone pings to indicate a message. He opens it and passes the phone to his mother who gasps and brings her hand up to cover her mouth. On the screen is a picture of her tiny daughter wrapped in blankets in her incubator. The phone pings again and she swipes the screen to reveal a picture of Kate cradling their little girl. There's no stopping the tears that escape, or the big smile that spreads across her face. "She's perfect. They both are" she smiles. The phone gets passed around for everyone to see. Even the nurse gets a look. "She's gorgeous, Caroline. Congratulations!"

"Thank you"

"Now, not to put a dampener on things but I think you've had enough excitement for one day – you need some rest, Caroline." With that Celia and William take their cue and say their goodbyes, promising to come back to see her the next day and Caroline quickly drifts off to sleep, happy in the knowledge that her girls are safe.

During the night she is moved from her place in Intensive Care into a private room on a ward where she would make her recovery. The following morning there's a knock on the door and Kate is wheeled into the room by a porter. Caroline is still groggy after her sleep and is in considerable pain as her painkillers have worn off and her muscles are starting to stiffen and ache after the accident. He face visibly brightens when she sees Kate though and she reaches out her good hand towards her. Kate is shocked by Caroline's appearance and injuries but quickly takes Caroline's hand into her own.

"Where is she?" Caroline asks looking around

"She's in her incubator on the ward - they want to keep her there for a few days to monitor her. They've assured me she's doing well though and that it's just a precaution"

"Not exactly what we planned is it?" Caroline smiles ruefully. "I'm sorry"

"Caroline, you've got nothing to apologise for. That van came out of nowhere. It wasn't your fault. But if you didn't want to marry me it might have just been easier to tell me!" she adds cheekily

Caroline smiles. "You're not getting out of it that easily! You _will_ be my wife! As soon as I'm out of this place.."

"Good" Kate smiles, leaning over to kiss Caroline gently

"Now, tell me all about my daughter!" Caroline demands with a smile

The two women chat happily, glad to be reunited and neither wanting to break the hold they have of the other's hand. There's another knock at the door. This time it's Celia, back to see her daughter.

"Kate!" she says, slightly surprised to see her "How are you? How's the baby?"

"Good thanks, Celia"

"And you, Caroline?"

"I'm fine thank you, mother"

"I brought you a few bits from the house so that you're a bit more comfortable"

"Thank you" she replies curtly

Celia sighs. She knows what this is about. "Look, love, I'm sorry I said I wasn't coming to the wedding, it was wrong of me – I know that now. This happening has put everything in perspective. I nearly lost you – my only daughter. I don't want to fall out with you. I might not understand it or like it but I can see how much you two mean to each other and so I will try to support you from now on"

"Really?"

"Yes, love" she replies leaning in to kiss Caroline's temple

"Thank you, Mum" Caroline replies emotionally

"There is still going to be a wedding isn't there?" she inquires

Caroline turns to gaze at Kate "Oh yes" she says with a smile. Kate leans in for a kiss and Celia doesn't turn away or flinch. Her daughter is safe and is happy and that's all that matters.


End file.
